!!!This is a disambiguation page for the ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' franchise. Please don't link here, unless you're referring to it in general. If the link that brought you here mentioned any particular series -- including ''Nanoha Original'' -- and not the franchise as a whole, please redirect it to one of the series pages listed below.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fatenano_9547.jpg]][[caption-width-right:300:Female bonding at its awesomest.]]

->''"Call me a devil... it just means I'll have to use my hellish powers to get you to listen!"''-->--'''Nanoha Takamachi''', ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', episode 9.

It has been noted by TV executives that MagicalGirl series usually have MultipleDemographicAppeal -- not only are they popular among [[{{Kodomomuke}} 4 to 9-year-old girls]], but also among [[{{Seinen}} 19 to 30-]][[TestosteroneBrigade year-old males]]. Shows such as ''Franchise/PrettyCure'' attempt to [[MultipleDemographicAppeal please both demographics]]. ''Nanoha'' is [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForLittleGirls made exclusively for the second]].

The series has a rather unusual production history. Nanoha first started as a TokenMiniMoe in a certain [[{{Eroge}} H-game]] named ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'', part of a trilogy of such H-games. She was a very minor character, but proved popular enough to eventually get a mini SpinOff game where she becomes a typical [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickeningly sweet]] MagicalGirl. A few years later they decided to make an anime based on that, and so ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' was born. Said series proceeded to [[MixAndMatch throw in]] a bunch of tropes that would be more associated with HumongousMecha shows for good measure, simply because a production crew member noted that Nanoha's [[GiantPoofySleeves costume design]] made her look like a [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Gundam]]. From there on she went on to become one of the most badass {{Magical Girl}}s yet to have existed.

What makes ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'' unique is the detail put into the fight scenes, much to the delight of the {{seinen}} market's nostalgia for [[HumongousMecha grand space battles]] and fist-pumping action. Many people who can't stand typical MagicalGirl shows enjoy ''Nanoha'' because of this. It is also unusual among more dramatic and action-packed MagicalGirlWarrior series in that Nanoha ''loves'' her job, enjoys her powers, and makes responsible decisions regarding them extending into adulthood. In fact, her job and adventures ''extend'' well into adulthood, period.

Over the years ''Lyrical Nanoha'' has branched off into a multi-media franchise with several separate continuities:

[[AC:{{Alternate continuit|y}}ies]]* PSP verse: Fighting games for the PSP - [[VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable The Battle Of Aces]] (2010) and [[VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable The Gears Of Destiny]] (2011); AlternateTimeline sequels to ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs A's]]'' with OriginalGeneration characters.[[/index]]* Movie Verse: ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie First'' (2010) and ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie Second As'' (2012) are RecursiveCanon retellings of ''Nanoha Original'' and ''A's'', while ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection'' (slated for Summer 2017) and its sequel ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation'' (slated for 2018) are entirely original story; * ''Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Movie First The Comics''- the manga companion of the movie, which is yet another retelling of ''Nanoha Original'' but [[ReWrite significantly different]] from both sources; (2009-2010) [[index]]* Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaINNOCENT - a multimedia series including a manga and a {{Collectible Card|Game}} MobilePhoneGame. A [[HighSchoolAU Grade School AU]], where {{Magical Girl}}s are avatars in a VirtualReality game with cards. Also starring the OriginalGeneration characters from the PSP verse. (2012-ongoing)[[/index]]

[[AC:[[AllThereInTheManual Supplementary works]]]]* A LightNovel adaptation, with mostly the same plot as the first anime, but with a few key deviations. Illustrations by the same artist as the movie manga. It has never been translated.* ''Original Chronicle Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The 1st'' - yet another revisit of TheOriginalSeries events, this time in manga form, while also pulling elements from the movie, sound stages and light novel. (2013)* Three volumes of manga detailing various [[DayInTheLife slice of life moments]] throughout ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs A's]]'' and ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'', including six chapters that bridge the ten years between them.* A set of [[AudioAdaptation Audio Dramas]] called [[https://sites.google.com/site/translationcd/ "Sound Stages":]]** The ones accompanying the first three seasons are mostly [[AllThereInTheManual manuals]] and slice of life moments inbetween the episodes;** The ones for the fist two movies (as well as their InCharacterCommentary) are the same, except set at the time the movies were [[RecursiveCanon "shot"]], that is, post-''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' in the primary continuity;** ''Audioplay/StrikersSoundStageX'' is an entirely self-contained story;** The second PSP game has a drama CD, which crosses over with the second movie, (except it treats it as a real AlternateTimeline) and with a post-''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' timeline, [[MindScrew which may or may not be the main timeline;]]* A semi-canon (though its status is debatable) 4-volume anthology manga called ''Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: Comic à la carte'' in the post-''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' continuity, as well as extra volumes for the Movie 2nd A's and the INNOCENT continuities;* Countless {{Yonkoma}}s for almost every installment and continuity, up to the movie sound stages. Some are bundled as {{Omake}}s after the main manga volumes, others run in the same publisher's magazines;* ''Lyrical Nanoha×Prisma☆Illya'' - a one-shot non-canon IntercontinuityCrossover manga with ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya'', which features Nanoha and Fate circa the first season ([[MindScrew though looking like they do in the movie]]) teaming up with Ilya and Miyu after some time/space weirdness traps them in a pocket dimension together;* Numerous artbooks, guidebooks, character profiles, collectable cards, colored pamphlets and other things of dubious canonicity. Also a truckload SideStoryBonusArt and other promotional materials from the various magazines publishing the different ''Nanoha'' manga.

The entire series is animated by Seven Arcs (Except for the ''[=ViVid=]'' anime, which is animated by Creator/A1Pictures) and written by Masaki Tsuzuki, who has a habit of radically [[GenreShift shifting its tone and feel]] between almost every installment.

----!!The franchise as a whole and the supplementary works provide examples of:

* AbandonedCatchphrase: Nanoha originally had the cutesy catchphrase "[[GratuitousEnglish Lyrical Magical]]". This was phased out in ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs A's]]'', and replaced with the far more appropriate "Zenryoku Zenkai!" ([[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Full Power! Full Throttle!]])[[labelnote:*]]The latter half is also a homophone for "[[StuffBlowingUp Total Annihilation!]]"[[/labelnote]]* AirJousting: Sometimes with rocket-propelled devices for good measure.* AllPlanetsAreEarthLike* AllThereInTheManual: Many things, from details on how spells work to how characters came to certain decisions in the series, to even major parts of characters' backstories, are only discussed in the sound stages and companion manga. Even who some minor characters actually ''are''. Recall the cheerful maid that took care of Fate and her sister in the dream she had towards the end of ''A's''? Without seeing some of the official art, you'd never know she had ''cat ears and a tail'' under that outfit. She's Precia's familiar. This was corrected in TheMovie.* AlternateCalendar: Old and New Mid-Childan Calendar.* AlternateContinuity:** Nanoha and family are an AlternateUniverse version of the one from the H-game and {{OVA}} series ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' where her brother, sister, and father were ninja-like bodyguards. The first season makes numerous references to this. Her father, killed in ''Triangle Heart'', is alive in this universe, although covered with scars from "his old job". In addition Nanoha enjoys watching her brother and sister spar, using the same fighting style from the original series.** It's also an alternate continuity to the ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_RBghAfiW8 Lyrical Toy Box]]'' mini-game SpinOff, which was the spiritual pilot for ''Nanoha'', very little of which was kept in the final incarnation.** Within the franchise itself we have TheMovie 1st and 2nd, which are considered an alternate retelling of the first and second seasons, with changes justified InUniverse as semi-biographical films, produced on Mid-childa.** The first movie's supplementary manga diverges further into it's own continuity, shifting the order of major events and changing the characters' personalities somewhat.** The PSP games ''VideoGame/BattleOfAces'' and ''VideoGame/GearsOfDestiny'' are also an alternate continuity diverging from the main series shortly before the end of ''[=A's=]'', though apparently all the events after the time skip remain unchanged.** ''Lyrical Nanoha×Prisma☆Illya'' is some kind AlternateContinuity singularity, considering it crosses over two AlternateUniverse spinoffs of two unrelated franchises, while not being in continuity with any of them. It's still official, but definitely a FakeCrossover.* AmplifierArtifact: All devices, as they don't really enable people to cast magic, as much as they automate the process, control the flow of mana and in the case of the cartridge system enable short bursts of power.* AntiVillain: Perhaps the most straight-played element from classic MagicalGirl franchises present in ''Nanoha'' is that the typical antagonist usually is more misunderstood than genuinely evil. Unlike traditional takes on the genre, however, getting them to talk means [[DefeatMeansFriendship having to beat the snot out of them first]] in the most spectacular way possible, or at the very least GunboatDiplomacy.* ApocalypseHow: Lost Logia in sufficient amount is capable of X-2 and beyond class as the Al-Hazred disaster showed.* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Has an aversion that proves the trope. The blast radius for the Arc-en-Ciel WaveMotionGun is greater than its maximum range, so a ship firing it must immediately jump out to dimensional space or be HoistByHisOwnPetard.* ArmedWithCanon: The Megami Sound Stages were written by Yuunoha supporters (or at least Nanofate opponents), while ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' gives a slightly different look not to mention is also written by series creator Masaki Tsuzuki. For instance mention is made that Vivio's relationship with Fate is like that of an aunt (Vivio says she knows Fate isn't ''really'' her "mama" since it was Nanoha alone who adopted her) -- with the implication that Nanoha and Fate are [[LikeBrotherAndSister Like Sister and Sister]] -- but in ''[=ViVid=]'' she's back to calling her "Fate-mama". They also break the fourth wall, so their canonical significance was already pretty suspect.** ''[=ViVid=]'' also has Vivio [[https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/mahou_shoujo_lyrical_nanoha_vivid_ch77#26 explicitly telling another character that she has two mothers]].* ArtificialHuman: Many of the characters, both heroic and villainous, are lab experiments.* AscendedExtra: In ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'', Nanoha is just a side character who doesn't get much development outside of Kuon's route. Then the fan box came out and gave her a small game. Then, that inspired ''this'' show.* AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe: With the right Device setting, spells can't kill people, and functional Barrier Jackets prevent most kinds of indirect damage.* AudioAdaptation: The Sound Stages. Most are [[AllThereInTheManual manuals]], but ''Audioplay/StrikersSoundStageX'' is a self contained story and even has lasting consequences in the series canon.* AuthorAppeal: No matter what direction the series goes in, you can always count on having cute girls [[StuffBlowingUp blowing stuff up]] mecha style.* BadassAdorable: Anyone with magical powers between the ages of 9 and 12 easily qualifies.* BadassFamily: Several. And they're all TrueCompanions, so they practically qualify as a BadassArmy of Badass Families. ** The Harlaowns. Admiral Lindy, Admiral Chrono, and Enforcer Fate . Probably also [[HeroicSacrifice the late]] Clyde Harlaown. Any of them can and will befriend you into outer space if you make them mad. Erio and Caro probably count as members as well and Arf's the family pet.** The Yagami family. Not actually blood-related, but a family nevertheless. [[PersonOfMassDestruction Hayate]], [[LightningBruiser Signum]], [[TheBerserker Vita]], [[CombatMedic Shamal]], [[NobleWolf Zafira]], [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Reinforce/Reinforce Zwei]], and [[spoiler:[[PlayingWithFire Agito]]]].** The Takamachi family. The White Devil herself, Fate, and [[spoiler:[[PersonOfMassDestruction Vivio]]]]. And if you go with the ''Triangle Heart'' backstory, also Nanoha's siblings, Kyoya and Miyuki Takamachi and their father, all of whom are superb swordsmen and able to defeat legions of gunmen in mere seconds. Not to mention the fact the entire family is descended from samurai.** The Nakajimas. With the exception of [[NonActionGuy Non Action Dad]] Genya (who lets his 108th Battalion do the talking), all of the members of the family are formidable fighters. [[ActionMom Quint]], [[BoobsOfSteel Ginga]], [[HotBlooded Subaru]], [[spoiler:[[BadassLongcoat C]][[EyepatchOfPower i]][[KnifeNut n]][[StuffBlowingUp q]][[YouShallNotPass ue]], [[{{BFG}} Dieci]], [[PowerFist Nove]] and [[SmallGirlBigGun Wendi]]]]. [[spoiler: Tohma Avenir]] will likely be joining them in the near future. And according to the First Movie Sound Stage, they consider [[TheGunslinger Teana]] part of the family.* BarbieDollAnatomy: Used extensively in transformation sequences and in all other cases for the lolis in the manga and the anime series. The adults in ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' and ''[[Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce Force]]'' or anyone in the movie, not so much.* BattleBallgown: Since Barrier Jackets and Knight's Armor can be customized, some characters (especially the slower ones) have rather elaborate outfits like [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vita_y_8940.jpg Vita]] and [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/victoria-350_3917.jpg Victoria]]. * BeamOWar: Subverted for the most part. In any BeamOWar situation, nobody ever really has to work at it. Any time it happens, one of the people attempting it will lose almost instantly, because true BeamOWar requires standing still, and anyone engaged in FullContactMagic loses when they do that.* BecomeYourWeapon: The Unison Devices are tiny sentient humanoids who exist specifically to physically merge with their masters and give them enormous power boosts. The only downside is that very few mages can handle Unison. * BewareTheNiceOnes: Almost all of the protagonists are incredibly friendly people, and every single one of them can and will kick your ass if you somehow manage to incite their wrath.* {{BFG}}: Shooting-focused Intelligent Devices are basically the magical equivalent. To push the analogy further, the second season introduces cartridges, which might as well be magically charged shotgun shells or even rifle casings from their appearance, and Bardiche loads them [[RevolversAreJustBetter from a swing-out revolver cylinder]], while Raising Heart does so from a detachable box magazine. Raising Heart's cannon mode in TheMovie even has a sliding trigger grip.* BlankWhiteEyes: In comedic situations.* BleachedUnderpants: In addition to the series' roots in {{eroge}}, the animation studio Seven Arcs made nothing but porn before they made ''Nanoha''.* BlueWithShock* BoringButPractical: Storage Devices have no to minimum A.I. whatsoever and are limited to only one weapon form, but they process magic faster. The "practical" part makes them the most commonly used type of device among mages, while the "boring" part makes them the least used type of device among main characters.* BoxedCrook: One of the bureau's favorite ways to recruit new mages is to give defeated villains job offers. Contrary to most examples of this trope, the work involved is more akin to community service than anything else, and it's shown to be temporary. As of ''[=StrikerS=]'', Fate and Hayate have both graduated from this program and gone on to become high-ranking officers and widely-recognized heroes of the bureau, and the Numbers seem to be on their way to similar status in ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]''.* ByThePowerOfGreyskull:** "Set up." Amusingly in very beginning, Nanoha had to recite a ridiculous chant in order to activate Raising Heart. She developed the reroute/short-cut on her own, much to Yuuno's shock and amazement.** Durandal's "Start up."** The one-time-only German commands used to initate the Wolkenritter's Devices.* CallingYourAttacks: And when the characters don't, their Devices do it for them.* CanNotSpitItOut: The more sympathetic villains regarding their true objectives.* CastFromCalories: The magical energy mages use to cast spells is generated by their bodies, so they have to replenish their calories at every opportunity. * CasualInterplanetaryTravel: The cosmology is a bit vague. It might be that the different worlds in the setting are actually located in separate dimensions, as the space in between planets is explicitly NOT your regular cosmos and is instead called "The Dimensional Sea". However, the ships used to traverse dimensions are also sometimes explicitly shown in orbit of a planet, so it might be that it's only dimensional travel in the sense that it's done through a {{Hyperspace}}. Either way, for all intents and purposes, "dimension", "world", and "planet" are completely interchangeable in the setting. Spells like Dimensional Transfer are readily available to {{Magitek}} mages, and in ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'', the heroes take a shuttle to another planet like one would take a bus to another town.* CentralTheme: Family, both biological and FamilyOfChoice. [[http://okazu.yuricon.com/2012/03/11/the-concept-of-family-in-the-magical-girl-lyrical-nanoha-verse/ This article]] looks into it in depth. * CerebusRollercoaster: Most of ''Nanoha'' tends to alternate between adorably sweet and terribly depressing.* ClonesArePeopleToo: This is generally the prevalent attitude regarding all the clone characters. Precia Testarossa is about the only character who doesn't share this perspective, and the reason she hated Fate is because she ''wasn't'' the same person as the girl she was cloned from, and Precia wanted a ReplacementGoldfish. The movie backpedaled on this slightly, with Precia realizing much too late that Fate was effectively the little sister Alicia had always wanted. ** In ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'', it's revealed that while Vivio very closely resembles the woman she was cloned from, there are physical as well as personality differences between them (most notably, the fact that Olivie had no arms, though Vivio's "adult mode" also shows that she's [[BuxomIsBetter bigger]] than her predecessor).* ClothingDamage: The clothing damage in the mangas is worse than in any other media.* CompetenceZone: Averted with a vengeance. Where most magical girls [[GrowingUpSucks lose their powers as they grow older]], Nanoha and company get that much more badass as they go from their pre-teens to their early 20s.* CoolStarship: The first two seasons hat the Arthra/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Asura]]. ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' has the Cradle. And ''[[Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce Force]]'' adds the "Wolfram" and "Esquad Hückebein".* CreatingLifeIsBad: Played with. While the act of cloning is both immoral and highly illegal, the people created as a result are the same as any other person and [[ClonesArePeopleToo are given full human rights]]. The real problem is that the {{Mad Scientist}}s that create them tend to abuse said human rights and use them as SuperSoldiers.* DarkerAndEdgier: The series is gradually slipping into this as the franchise wears on. Well, the main continuity is anyway, the movies and games keep the tone consistent with the anime, and the [[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid spinoff]] [[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaINNOCENT manga]] go [[LighterAndSofter the opposite way.]]* DefeatMeansFriendship: To the point where, among the fandom, "befriend" has come to be synonymous with "beat the crap out of".-->befriend (v.): to use mecha-class beam weaponry to inflict grievous bodily harm on a target in the process of proving the validity of your belief system.\\-- From a post on rpg.net* DemotedToExtra: Frequently happens to character that carry over from previous seasons, even the main ones after the third series.* DenouementEpisode: This is pretty much standard procedure. Every season normally has it's climax on the penultimate episode and devotes almost the entire finale to wrapping up the loose ends (along with an epilogue in ''A's'' and ''[=StrikerS=]'').* DysfunctionJunction: It's downplayed, given the nature idealistic nature of the setting, but up until ''[=ViVid=]'', the only major character who hadn't suffered some sort of horrible trauma in their backstory (which normally involved the loss of a family member) was, ironically, Nanoha herself. [[spoiler: And depending on your definition of backstory, she had her injury in-between ''A's'' and ''[=StrikerS=]''.]]** Of course, part of the reason why it's downplayed is that there are therapists; [[WarriorTherapist the kind that rain pink lasers of death upon their patients]].* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:** The first few episodes of the original series were a standard MagicalGirl show, and it wasn't until A's that it really became a Franchise/{{Gundam}}-[[InSpace in-a-schoolgirl-skirt]] show.** And if you think that's jarring, take a look at [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_RBghAfiW8 the original concept!]]* {{Empathic Weapon}}s: All the intelligent devices. This leads to somewhat comical moments where they will compliment one another. The unison devices take it a step further by being completely self aware.* EnhancedPunch: Magic-powered punches are a common attack type among mages in the franchise who eschew weapons. For instance, Einhart Stratos' signature super-punch, Unchain Knuckle, even got a chapter named after it in ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid''.%%* EvilWearsBlack: Fiddled around with.* ExcessiveSteamSyndrome: Most Intelligent and Armed Devices usually discharges ''some'' kind of gas after any particularly impressive attack. It's apparently a design feature, since the vents have caps that pop off to let it happen. Especially with a cartridge system. This kind of supports the theory that Magi-Link Cartridges generate a lot of waste heat, if not for the AI system decompiling the [[VancianMagic Magic As Programs]] attacks in split-seconds and then cooling down in-between. In other words, [[FridgeBrilliance AI split-second overclocking in weapon forms]]. In the side materials Nanoha mentions her new Raising Heart jury-rigged with a cartridge system is a total maintenance nightmare.* {{Fanservice}}* FanserviceFauxFight: Every "mock battle" in the ever, by the virtue of its participants being [[AmazonBrigade mostly female]] while [[AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe their weapons are safely set to]] ClothingDamage mode.* FashionableAsymmetry: There's a single unruly tuft of hair growing out of the head of almost everyone, particularly prominent on the members of the Testarossa family.* TheFederation: The TSAB.* FlashStep: Various spells allow this, but Fate is a regular practitioner who doesn't need special assistance from her [[EmpathicWeapon Intelligent Device]], Bardiche, to do so.* FlyingFirepower: The Air Mages, especially those who use the Mid-Childa style, which specialize at firing beams and other energy projectiles.* FrillyUpgrade: An interesting take on the concept, with later seasons trying to see how much metal parts they can jam into Nanoha's barrier jacket before she start resembling an actual mecha. The devices get more weapon-like as well. The movies, manga and games retroactively apply this look to the earlier periods though.* GenreShift: Each installment seems to move further away from the stereotypical MagicalGirl setting, and closer to Nanoha's destiny of being an [[Franchise/{{Gundam}} RX-78-2 in a schoolgirl outfit.]]* GratuitousEnglish[=/=]GratuitousGerman: Nanoha and Fate's devices speak English, and the Wolkenritters' speak German. It's [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish pronounced well]] because the actors are native speakers, although from ''A's'' onward the ''grammar'' does start to get a little funky. The movies fix that as well.* GreatOffscreenWar: The Ancient/Old Belkan War.* HappilyAdopted: There are so many that it's easier to list the character who aren't adopted. Out of the main characters, there are three kids who are seen with at least one blood parent: Nanoha, Chrono and [[spoiler:Lutecia]]. Out of the secondary characters, there are five, the first two and last two being siblings: [[TheGhost Karel, Liera]], Griffith, Kyouya, and possibly Miyuki.[[note]]She was Nanoha and Kyouya's cousin who was adopted by their parents in ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' and it's ambiguous if that applies in the Nanoha continuity.[[/note]] Pretty much everybody else is happily adopted.* HitSoHardTheCalendarFeltIt: The Mid-Childan calendar begins after the end of the Belkan War.* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: Done for good reason: the most powerful personal attacks, known as Breakers, don't use the caster's magic so much as latent magic leaked into the atmosphere by the repeated attacks and spells. As a result, a Breaker at the end of a long and intense battle can be on the scale of a moderate-sized nuclear warhead, while one at the beginning of a low-key skirmish might be little more than a belch. This is why Breakers are generally used only after a battle has been raging for a long time. In Vivid, this is actually noted, as Tiana first considers the saturation of magic in the air before prepping her Breaker during the training match.* HolographicTerminal: Magical ones, but holographic nonetheless.* HomoeroticSubtext: While it's unknown if the series had initially planed this from the very beginning over the years the Nanoha franchise has become one with the idea of deep personal relationships between women. While the relationship between Nanoha and Fate is the most well known and remembered the series has dozens of female characters who have a lot of subtext and genuine ShipTease with one another (it doesn't help that, again, most male characters are DemotedToExtra as the franchise moves on). The only thing that stops the Nanoha franchise from being a flat out Yuri series is the strict NoHuggingNoKissing rule that the series follows.** The relationship between Nanoha and Fate stopped being subtext due to [[http://imgur.com/sOUak02 this interview]] with series creator [[WordOfGod Masaki Tsuzuki]] as well as the voice actresses for [[Creator/YukariTamura Nanoha]] and [[Creator/NanaMizuki Fate]].* HumanAliens: Most of the human cast isn't from [[InsignificantLittleBluePlanet Earth]].* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: To quote Raising Heart: "Barrier Jacket". Furthermore it's freely customisable by the user.* ImprobablyFemaleCast: In both population and screen time. * InstantArmor: The Barrier Jackets are skimpier than most example, but they still appear outta nowhere, and seem to outstrip a main battle tank in terms of defensive potential. They appear to be created by the user's mana and according to the movie manga can even be regenerated mid-battle. Then again that is an AlternateContinuity.* InstantRunes: Endemic to high-powered magic.* InterclassFriendship:** Nanoha (daughter of a baker/retired bodyguard) is ChildhoodFriends with Arisa and Suzuka, both of whom are {{Ojou}}s.** Vivio's circle of friends in ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' ranges from working class to incredibly wealthy, and several of them are direct descendants of royalty.** Fuka and Rinne from ''Anime/VividStrike''. They grew up in an orphanage together, until Rinne was adopted by rich fashion designers. Their friendship fell apart a few years later and the season revolves around them reconnecting.* IntraFranchiseCrossover:** A one-shot made to celebrate the release of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaTheMovie2ndAs'' featured characters from four separate points in the main continuity's timeline talking with each other about the movie, a direct mention of ''[[VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable Gears of Destiny]]'', and a joke involving ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaInnocent''.** Due to time-travel shenanigans, ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny'' features an encounter between the protagonists of the Portable continuity (an AlternateTimeline where [[spoiler:Reinforce Eins]] survived the Book of Darkness Incident) and several characters only existing in the Primary continuity (where [[spoiler:Eins]] died), effectively creating a crossover between different, mutually exclusive timelines of the series.** A Drama CD for the game has it crossover with the second movie. Note that the movies are [[RecursiveCanon propaganda produced by the TSAB]] and shouldn't even exist as a separate continuity.* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Averted mostly, since the TSAB imposes heavy restrictions on the use of mass-based weapons, because unlike magic devices you can't set them to stun.* LandSeaSky: The TSAB has the Air Force, the Dimensional Navy and the Ground Forces.* LifeEnergy* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Manageable in the first two series. Becomes quite unwieldy in ''[=StrikerS=]'', to the point that many of the antagonists receive almost no characterization at all [[AllThereInTheManual outside of the supplementary material]]. ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' and ''[[Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce Force]]'' also keep piling on the new faces while keeping many of the old ones and well, there's a reason the character sheet is split in seven.* LostTechnology: Lost Logia. Their power ranges from "safe enough to be sold as antiques at auctions" to "destroy the fabric of reality".* MagicalAccessory: Several of the [[MorphWeapon Devices]] across the franchise take the form of necklaces in their Standby Mode. * MagicalGirlWarrior: With the exception of a couple of the early episodes they are called "mages" or "knights", which isn't strictly limited to females, though the ratio is [[ImprobablyFemaleCast quite heavily slanted]] in their favour. [[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]] recently added witches, whose magic seems to work in somewhat different ways.* MagicKnight: Almost everyone, with Belkan Knights (except for Hayate and Shamal) and Fate being particularly reliant on close combat.* MagicMissileStorm: Several spells. These are types of shooting spells are some of the easiest and fastest to cast for a mage, and could be used as suppression fire as well as direct attacks. These spells often come with alternate versions that changes the amount of energy bullets and/or the way they are fired at the enemy. In particular, if the name of the spell is followed by something like Phalanx Shift or Genocide Shift, you should be ready to block or dodge like hell as you will be faced with a veritable wall of energy projectiles. Examples of these include:** Nanoha's Divine/Axel Shooter - homing energy spheres whose every movement Nanoha could control;** Fate's Photon/Plasma Lancer - arrow shaped, bolts of energy with limited homing capabilities. Comes in several variations and could be combined into an energy lance;** Teana's Cross Fire Shoot - controllable energy spheres like Nanoha's, but could alternatively be fired as a BeamSpam instead;** Vivio's Sonic Shooter - controllable energy orbs like her Nanoha-mama's.* {{Magitek}}: While using combat magic still requires some genetic predisposition, everyday technology on Mid-Childa is all magic based. The Ancient Belkans had an even more advanced fusion of magic and technology, to the point that even TSAB scientists don't know how most of their Lost Logia operate.%%* {{Mana}}* MasterApprenticeChain: Yuuno > Nanoha > the Forwards (Subaru, Teana, Erio, and Caro). Unlike most examples, they all use vastly different fighting styles, they're all roughly the same age (a ten year difference between the oldest and youngest), and there is only one case of a technique being passed down from master to apprentice ([[spoiler:Nanoha teaching Teana [[WaveMotionGun Starlight Breaker]]]]). * MildlyMilitary: The Time/Space Administrative Bureau, which also acts as both TheFederation and TheMagocracy.* MilitaryMage: All field operatives in the TSAB are mages by default since mass-based weaponry is illegal. Nanoha herself holds the rank of 1st Captain.%%* MiniDressOfPower* MoeCouplet: Fuels nearly every standard fanship, to the point it replaces the otherwise vanilla Erio/Caro ship vaguely implied in the show.* MugglesDoItBetter: Thoroughly inverted. Except for pesky {{Mage Killer}}s, magic is superior in both strategic and tactical aspects. Even a mid-tier mage needs an anti-tank missile to kill, high-ranking mages throw out building-busters at least while outflying modern fighters and the Arc-en-Ciel WaveMotionGun makes mundane nukes look like firecrackers. Even the prototype "kinetic" weapons used to fight {{Mage Killer}}s in the latest season are magic-powered and fire pure kinetic force, which is a whole different ballgame from RealLife weapons.* MundaneUtility: The Devices have many mundane functions, as they can take photographs, exchanging mails or photos, having schedules, and even phoning when telepathy is just too far. Some of them help their masters even in office work. There is even a picture where Nanoha and Fate use their Devices as ''microphones''.* NitroBoost: In practice, the Belkan cartridge system works this way; shell casings full of compressed magic that give a power boost to the next spell used. Mages normally limit themselves to loading one or two per shot since too many can place stress on themselves and their devices, although there have been cases where people have used four or (in one instance) [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill five]] at once. Comes in single shot, [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]] and banana clip packs.* NoHuggingNoKissing: The series has almost no romance onscreen, although [[ShipTease quite a lot is implied]]. Aside from Nanoha's brother and his girlfriend, the only confirmed relationships are between Amy and Chrono, and these characters mostly [[DemotedToExtra vanish after the second season]], and [[WordOfGay Nanoha and Fate]] according to [[http://imgur.com/sOUak02 this]]. Despite these confirmations, nothing actually happens onscreen. There are several character pairs that have romantic overtones, but none of them are ever explicitly shown to be more than friendship.* NonIndicativeName:** Raising Heart doesn't have any hearts. The name is an artifact from the ''Lyrical Toy Box'', where it actually was a puny heart-shaped wand.** The TSAB doesn't do anything in the '''Time''' department. TSAB should in fact be translated as "Dimension Administrative Bureau", and going by the English subs of the first movie, this is the official English translation as used by Seven Arcs. It could also be more accurately translated as Space-Time Administration Bureau to correspond with the "Spacetime" concept that pops up whenever the Universe is discussed in Physics, but, uhh... [[FunWithAcronyms the problems with that acronym should be pretty obvious.]]* NoTranshumanismAllowed: The series has an interesting take on this. Purely artificial life is apparently not only allowed but common in the form of magic-based familiars and magic-based augments like [[OlderThanTheyLook ageing retardation/youth maintenance]] are widespread. However, transhuman enhancement with genetic engineering or cybernetics is outlawed. [[AndroidsArePeopleToo Despite the illegality, no stigma is attached to actually being either since those enhanced rarely had a choice in the matter]]. ** The illegality of genetic enhancement and cybernetics seems based more on the implication that the average experiment in these directions fails horribly. The subjects themselves are often actually provided therapy for dealing with such things.** The fact that most results of the experiments double as [[PersonofMassDestruction Living WMDs]] is the other main factor. There's actually a good reason for this - the roots of the technology are derived from fallen civilizations that used it to create SuperSoldiers.* OffScreenRomance: Chrono and Amy go from snarky colleagues to married-with-two-children during the Time Skip between ''A's'' and ''[=StrikerS=]'' seasons, though some off-handed comments imply this was more of a Shotgun Wedding. Likewise, Griffith and Lucino complete their romance arc off-screen between ''[=StrikerS=]'' and ''Force'' and are married in the latter.* OnlyFleshIsSafe: Mid-Childan combat magic is like this: you'd think that an energy beam that can pierce through layers upon layers of heavy spaceship armor would vaporize bare flesh instantly, but no, it merely knocks the target unconscious with not so much as a burn. Most cuts and bruises the characters sustain in combat actually come from secondary sources, like being slammed into a wall or caught under falling debris.* OpposingCombatPhilosophies: The Midchildian mages focus on defensive barriers and WaveMotionGun tactics, while the Belkan Knights swarm up close with punishing melee attacks and cartridge-enhanced weaponry. There are exceptions to both rules like Fate, a melee-oriented Mid-childa style, and Hayate, a long-range SquishyWizard Belkan-user, and things get more complicated as the series goes on with mixed types, defense and support specialists, exotics like summon magic, curses and various forms of magical kung-fu.** In ''[=StrikerS=]'', this difference is reflected in the transformation sequences. For Mid-Childan users their clothing disappears piece by piece, while it disappears all at once for Belkan users. This little detail was not carried over to ''[=ViVid=]''.* OverrankedSoldier: Many characters hold ranks that are highly implausible for their age. Most gratuitous are Hayate (a lieutenant colonel) and Chrono (an admiral), both are barely twenty. Even Lindy commanding her own ship at 31 can be a bit of a stretch. Somewhat {{justified}} in Chrono's case, as he was promoted in the wake of a scandal that ended the careers of several high-ranking general staff. ** Possibly complicated by the fact that many of them start service around age 10, so the 20 year old has 10 years of service already.* PantyShot: Mandatory during transformation sequences. Otherwise almost non-existent, save for roughly one single inexplicable shot in each season.* PersonOfMassDestruction: ''Nanoha'' is a rare series where there's a good portion of individuals who treat theirs well. The ones who don't... well, they get befriended, in some cases fatally.* PhantomZone: There is a spell called "Barrier" that pushes everything half a dimension over. The city is still there, but all non-magic users are no longer present, and thus cannot witness the light show. However, fights without barriers enclosing them leave ''massive'' collateral damage -- like Nanoha's first, the cratered site of which she fled from upon hearing the sirens of incoming emergency vehicles.* PinkMeansFeminine: Played with in many ways. The title character herself, a rather feminine young woman, has pink as the default color of her magic... which she usually uses to deliver [[DefeatMeansFriendship a world of pain to her prospective friends and family]]. Then, we have Signum, a LadyOfWar who sports [[LongHairIsFeminine luscious waist-long]] pink hair... and is widely regarded as the manliest character in the series. Lastly, Caro Ru Lushe, whose hair ''and'' magic are pink... is a GirlyGirl (and one of the most obviously heterosexual ones in this LesYay-laden franchise, to boot), merrily playing this trope straight, even though she can summon dragons and huge dragons.* PowersAsPrograms: Yuuno explains right at the start of the first season that this is how the Intelligent Devices work, by channelling the caster's mana through standardized algorithms. This is somewhat subverted later, however, as all the high level mages personalize their repertoire. The more impressive spells usually combine several common effects and the unique skills of the caster, so while anyone with enough proficiency can copy the basic idea, matching the level of execution is a lot less likely.* PsychicLink: Belkan users can do this by themselves, while Mid-Childa mages need to use their Intelligent Devices.* RandomPowerRanking: How mages in the TSAB are ranked. Various characters have been ranked as C, B, A, AA, AAA, S, S+, and SS in one of the three disciplines: ground combat, air combat, or composite. SSS also exists, but no one has ever been shown to hold that rank.** Hayate's SS rank is a composite rank, as opposed to a combative rank, which is believed to be only based upon magical capacity, and not much else. She even went as far to say that Caro, without the aid of her dragons, could kick her ass after being trained by Nanoha.** Body augmentation rank of combat cyborgs.** Mages who are not in the TSAB are not ranked by this system. Although TSAB use this mage ranking system to evaluate threat level of enemy mages.* RecurringElement: Every season will have a "girl with sad eyes" which the heroes will save from their own unhappiness. They're usually {{Dark Magical Girl}}s, but there have been [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs some]] [[AudioPlay/StrikersSoundStageX exceptions]].* ReferenceOverdosed: [[ShoutOut/LyricalNanoha Mostly to mecha shows and cars]]. * RiddleForTheAges: The series has piled up a lot of questions over the years that have not been answered in the seasons they were introduced and will likely remain unanswered, given the series' tendency to steer the plot into completely new directions with every new installment. For instance, where exactly did Raising Heart come from (before being found by Yuuno)? Who was Alicia's father? Did Precia Testarossa ever reach Al-Hazard? How was the Book of Darkness corrupted? Who created the Type Zero cyborgs?* RousseauWasRight: Mostly. Any given antagonist a has at least a 50% chance of joining the good guys in the next season. Well, the Hückebein will probably break the trend considering how they're all {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s and all.* {{Seinen}}* SequelEscalation: Between the three main anime series, the stage just gets bigger and bigger. However, ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' and later series consciously averted the ''DragonBall'' method of power-level inflation; in ''[=StrikerS=]'' and ''[[Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce Force]]'', the Riot Force 6 elites (Nanoha, Fate, Hayate and Signum) are the strongest mages in the story, and their opponents are dangerous because of new capabilities and tactics rather than greater raw power.** The stakes arguably get smaller with series, from "disrupt all dimensional travel" to "destroy this backwater planet" to "possible political coup with a city held hostage" to "good-natured teen martial arts tournament" in ''[=ViVid=]'', even as the cast explodes yet again.* SheIsTheKing: Various Ancient Belka Kings still keep that title even if they are female. Specific examples are Sankt Kaiser Olivie Segbrecht and Ixpellia, the king of Garea.** To a lesser extent, Bardiche addresses Fate as "Sir" and, to a much lesser extent, Raising Heart addresses Nanoha as "Master". This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] as a RunningGag in TheAbridgedSeries: --> '''Bardiche:''' Yes, sir!--> '''Fate:''' That's '''''ma'am'''''!* ShipSinking: ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' had Nanoha/Chrono as canon, with none of the major alternative partners for Nanoha or Chrono available. Naturally, in this universe, it's the one suggested Nanoha pairing that we're explicitly told ''doesn't'' happen, as Chrono marries Amy between ''A's'' and ''[=StrikerS=]''.** Nanoha/Yuuno was also sunk when it was [[http://imgur.com/sOUak02 confirmed]] by [[WordOfGay Masaki Tsuzuki]] and the voice actresses for [[Creator/YukariTamura Nanoha]] and [[Creator/NanaMizuki Fate]] that Nanoha ended up with Fate, post-A's.* ShockingDefeatLegacy: [[AllThereInTheManual In the backstory]], the Belkan Homeworld's disappearance into the interdimensional void was a major turning point in the Belkan Wars.* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: [[EarnYourHappyEnding STARLIGHT]] [[DefeatMeansFriendship BREAKER!]] It fixes everything!* SmartGun: Many of the armed devices are magical variations of a semi-autonomous ranged weapon. * SmokeShield: At least once each season, if not more.* SpellLevels: Spells are ranked by power output: D is pretty much a parlor trick, S is a tactical nuke.* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Regarding the use of [[FanTranslation fan spellings]] of certain names as opposed to the official ones: examples include "Raising Heart"/"Raging Heart" and "Harlaown"/"Haraoun."* TheStinger: At the end of the Kaleid Liner crossover special when everyone goes back to their home dimensions, Ilya thinks of the pair of wonderful friends she made... then suddenly realizes she's holding Raising Heart, and Ruby is nowhere to be seen.* StockFootage: Surprisingly little, but there.* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Mostly spoken by the computers, but also one of Nanoha's friends at school. They're correctly accented, and make sense in context, although the grammar leaves something to be desired. The movie has the best English so far. They actually have native English-speaking voice actors for the computers -- Australian-born [[http://us.imdb.com/name/nm1051234/ Donna Burke]] for Raising Heart and an unknown named Kevin J. England for Bardiche. The German-speaking devices sound pretty good too, because Creator/TetsuyaKakihara grew up in Germany.* TalkingWeapon: Devices.* TangledFamilyTree: Making an organized family tree of the cast is an exercise in futility, what with all of the adoptions, [[ParentalSubstitute pseudo-adoptions]], clones, {{Artificial Human}}s and [[NoHuggingNoKissing implied romances]]. The trope page has an attempted example, but event that doesn't cover everything.* TechnologyPorn: With the exception of ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' and ''Anime/VividStrike'', the {{Transformation Sequence}}s focus just as much time on the individual components of the Devices snapping together in place as it does [[MaleGaze on the characters themselves]]. Every time a Device [[SwissArmyWeapon switches forms]], it will dominate the screen while it goes through the process. ''[[Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce Force]]'' takes this further by having a mini feature devoted entirely to new weapons and armor designs.* ThemeMusicPowerUp: All the insert songs sang by Creator/NanaMizuki act as this, as they play during part of the climactic showdown of each season. The TV series have "Take a Shot", "BRAVE PHOENIX" and "Pray", while the movies substitute the first two with "Don't Be Long" and "Sacred Force".* TimeSkip: Between each installment.* TimeyWimeyBall: In the VideoGame/GearsOfDestiny drama CD, the supposedly fictional movie versions of Fate and Nanoha are accidentally pulled into the PSP verse - itself an AlternateContinuity to the one that spawned their movie - to a time before said movie should existed, [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble even if it will exist in that timeline.]]* TrainingFromHell: One particular subversion aside, most of the mage training in the series is shown to be very grueling.* TranslationConvention: Messages displayed and spoken by Mid-Childa's Magitek devices are usually in English or German[[note]]Exceptions being humanoid Unison Devices such as Reinforce Zwei and Agito, Tohma's device Steed and Isis' device from ''Force''[[/note]], but all non-device characters exclusively speak Japanese. Since no explanation is ever provided, and it's possible that Mid-Childa could have picked up any or all of these languages through dimension-hopping shenanigans, it's unclear where the TranslationConvention is being applied, or whether it is being applied at all.* TransformationSequence: Present, but unusually for a MagicalGirl series, ''not'' used as time-wasting StockFootage. In fact, each main character gets ''at most'' two of these per season and only the first few times they transform.* TransformationIsAFreeAction: While the aforementioned full sequences are pretty long, whenever we see a transformation happen "from the outside", it takes less than two seconds.* TroubleFromThePast: The interdimensional community in the series is more or less a technological Utopia still reeling from the Belkan War 80 years ago. Every season so far has revolved around a piece of Belkan legacy from said war.* UniquenessDecay:** Played straight with [[OlderAlterEgo Adult Mode]]. When first introduced in ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' it appeared to be something that was unique to Vivio as a result of being a clone of the [[CrystalDragonJesus Sankt Kaiser]]. Then ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'' introduced three other characters who could do so, and while two of them also had connections to Ancient Belka, the third has no such legacy. By the time of ''Anime/VividStrike'', it seems like every fighter that hasn't finished puberty uses it. Though in the series defense, their appearance coincided with the increase of hand-to-hand fighters in the cast and transformation magic has existed as far back as ''A's''.** Inverted with {{Flight}}. For the first two seasons, the ability to fly appeared to be a rather standard skill for mages to have. Then ''[=StrikerS=]'' showed that being able to fly was actually really rare (only a few of the new characters can do so and none of them are protagonists). ''[=ViVid=]'' only had one and ''[=ViVid=] Strike!'' didn't have any.* UnskilledButStrong: Each of the main girls started out this way to some extent. Hayate's the only one who remains so even into adulthood, needing Rein just so she can properly aim her attacks.* VariantPowerCopying: This is actually the default way of "copying" other mages' spells; instead of taking spell formulas over verbatim, a mage usually adapts one of their own spells to emulate the effects of the one they want to learn. Two of Nanoha's students, for instance, have "inherited" her signature spells, but Subaru's Divine Buster is an extremely close range version of the original (long-ranged) spell, while Teana's Starlight Breaker is essentially her own Crossfire Shoot boosted with Nanoha's mana-gathering technique.* VehicularThemeNaming: As in ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'', characters from the magical worlds are named for cars -- (Ferrari) Testarossa, Scaglietti, (Opel) Zafira, Signum, Vita, (Maserati) Shamal, (Nissan) Teana, Subaru, etc. In total, there are around ''forty'' characters/devices that share names with cars.* WaveMotionGun:** The Arc-En-Ciel is a good example of a traditional one.** The others are all powered by a PersonOfMassDestruction. In the first movie, Nanoha's Starlight Breaker ''levels an entire city''.* WeaponizedBall: Vita's long-range weapons of choice are iron spheres that she launches towards her targets by striking them with the [[DropTheHammer polo mallet-like]] [[SwissArmyWeapon Hammer form]] of her [[EmpathicWeapon Armed Device]].* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Rampant. You'd be hard pressed to find a child in this series that isn't at least a ''little'' more mature than you'd expect them to be for their age.** The closest thing to a normal child would be Vivio, but only when she was 6. By the time that she's 10, she has the emotional maturity that her adult form would suggest.* WizardsFromOuterSpace* WorldOfActionGirls: Despite male mages shown to exist in the Nanoha universe the vast majority of characters are female (who kick a lot of ass) and the few male mages shown in the series tend to be DemotedToExtra. By the time that ''[=ViVid=]'' roles around you would be hard pressed to find a single male character who wasn't already introduced in previous installments. * WorldOfBadass* WorldOfBuxom: There isn't much variety in breast sizes for the characters who are at least in their teens or are already adults (physically); the two most common sizes that you'll see are "big" and "bigger". They're realistically sized rather than being [[GagBoobs extreme]] like some examples of this trope can get, though. Downplayed in the first two series where a large portion of the female characters are children, but becomes more obvious after the TimeSkip to ''[=StrikerS=]'' since at this point most of the female cast are either in their adolescence or adults. However, the rule doesn't apply to everyone: characters like [[{{Bifauxnen}} Otto]] or [[ACupAngst Iris]] are flat-chested, [[TheNapoleon Caro]] is as well once she gets older, and Sein is the only character in the animated canon who has small (but not nonexistent) breasts and isn't physically a child. Once ''[=ViVid=]'' comes around the trope starts to fade a bit; while some of the new characters are still buxom, overall they have a far more diverse variety of breasts sizes. For example, Lutecia from ''[=StrikerS=]'' [[SheIsAllGrownUp shows up as a teen]] in that manga, and turns out to be one of the small breasted characters.